


Twelve Days of Riddler

by SpyVsTailor



Series: Twelve Days of Riddler Series [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Drabbles, F/M, Harley/Scarecrow (Minor), Sort of drabbles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29421579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpyVsTailor/pseuds/SpyVsTailor
Summary: Eddie was annoying at the best of times, never mind when he got it into his head to be annoying on purpose. Selina Kyle spends an entire year of holidays in the clutches of the Riddler.
Relationships: Catwoman/Riddler, Jonathan Crane/Harleen Quinzel, Scarecrow/Harley Quinn, Selina Kyle/Edward Nygma
Series: Twelve Days of Riddler Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161338
Kudos: 5





	1. Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old fic of mine I'm moving to AO3 from ff.net, so enjoy these old things while I clean house.

The alley smelled faintly of day-old Italian food and urine, despite the fresh scent of falling snow that hovered over it.

It was that acrid scent that could only come from the industrial landscape of a dirty city. It was failed dreams and all too innocent hope, with only a pinch of remorse lingering from the fast-paced sex that occasionally haunted the seedy area between Marco's and the pawnshop. It was wet cement and rancid garbage, car exhaust, and cigarettes.

From her perch on a fire escape, she watched the people pass, her breath coming out in soft wisps, floating into the night sky like the swirls that curled out from under a freshly popped cork. It would have been a serene, starlit night if it wasn't for the fact she was brewing white-hot rage inside her.

The people of Gotham were obscenely happy during the holiday season, scampering by with their arms filled full of brightly colored gifts, wrapped in sweet ribbons and useless paper, which made her physically ill.

Beneath her, a couple lay unconscious, she didn't assault them, but she certainly didn't help them. If they were stupid enough to go down a dark alley in Gotham, then the group of street punks was a hard lesson learned in life. They would wake in the morning, possibly in the hospital, and know never to venture into dark alleys again. It wasn't Smalltown, USA. It was Gotham City and everyone knew Gotham was hell on earth.

After a few minutes of watching the little rat bastards pick over their victims, Selina decided it was time to intervene.

Eyeing her prey, she leapt, dropping to the hard ground of the alley.

Grasping her whip in a strong, but delicate hand, she lashed out, knocking a young man onto his ass.

Before the other two could cry out, Selina Kyle turned on one, dropping him like a sandbag in a run-down theatre, the second man soon followed, finished by her elbow. The boys scrambled to their feet, smart enough not to mess with anyone in any form of costume.

Moving to stand over the forms of the couple as the youth took off into the night, she sneered. "You should have taken the long way home, kids."

It had been only two hours prior that she was skulking around Wayne Manor, the brightly lit interior calling to her like a lighthouse in the fog. It was Christmas Eve and all the merriment of the season, all the well faked joy and family togetherness suckered her into thinking that she could tolerate it for once with someone who didn't make her want to bang her head against a wall.

But inside the manor, Bruce seemed far too happy with his newest blonde bombshell some spoiled princess of a socialite. And while he gathered around a richly decorated tree with his little bat family and that horrid woman being catered to by Alfred, serving them eggnog on a silver platter, Selina knew she wasn't wanted there.

Turning violet eyes towards the gifts at her feet, she smirked, those boys were about to rob them anyways, may as well make use of a fortuitous situation.

"I'm glad to see someone else as fed up with this season as I." A well-spoken tone broke over her moment as she gathered up all the gifts. It was a deceptively soft, crystal clear voice, that sparked something in her mind as familiar, but wasn't quite familiar enough. "Hemi-parasitic weeds hanging in doorways, songs about peace and love, a smile on every face and a nog in every pot."

Catwoman glanced over her shoulder at who dared interrupt her angry thieving and found none other than the Riddler emerging from the shadows of the pawnshop's backdoor.

Resting heavily on his cane while cocking his hip rakishly, he smiled down at her with his mockingly coy grin. It was a bright, almost boyish grin that seemed demure only because he tilted his head downwards ever so and lowered his lashes almost humbly.

She knew better. The Riddler was anything but demure.

Tucking all of the gifts (an overabundance in her opinion) into the black garbage bag she carried in a pouch at her hip (she never knew when she might come across the chance to steal a lot of things at once), Selina stood up and spun on him.

He continued to stand there arrogantly, his eyes shadowed by his fedora. "One might consider it cathartic, they," he pointed at her victims with his cane, "however, might consider it robbery. Now, I know you have more class than this…"

Selina glowered darkly at him. "You remind me of a jackal standing there, Eddie." She purred. "Waiting to pick clean the carcasses."

The Riddler chuckled. It was that laugh of his that bordered on giddy. When he finally sobered, he raised his head just enough, so that the light from Marco's backdoor struck his turquoise eyes, electrifying them. "It's Christmas Eve, Kitten. Shouldn't you be holed up somewhere warm?"

"I could ask the same of you, Ed." She remarked coolly, striding away. "And don't ever call me 'kitten'."

The green suited man caught up with her fluidly, bounding at her side youthfully. "Let me rephrase my question. Shouldn't you be holed up somewhere warm with someone you love, sipping cider and wrapping your own gifts?"

Selina scoffed. "What a revolting idea." She growled, placing a hand on his chest and pushing the Riddler hard onto the ground. She knew it was juvenile, but it made her feel a little better.

As he landed, long limbs askew, on the dirty, wet pavement, he looked up at her with a slight pout. "This suit is new." He replied. "You really have no idea how hard it is to find them in green."

Standing over him, freehand on her hip, she eyed Eddie's lean form on the ground. If it wasn't for the mouth or the ego on him, he wouldn't be half bad to look at, not her type, but not horrible. He had wide, bony looking shoulders, that sort of flattered his lean, almost lithe waist, a waist which topped the long, gangly legs now akimbo. The dominatrix in her found that she liked him best splayed out on the ground, right knee cocked, left leg stuck out straight, tie askew, jacket open. Disheveled Eddie was the best kind of Eddie.

"Everyone should have someone to be with at Christmas, Kitten," he said sagely, still on the ground, propped up with his elbows.

"Well put," she remarked, placing her boot in the middle of his chest and pushing him back down, "why don't you run off and do that and leave me alone."

Eddie placed a slender, gloved hand to her ankle. "I could, but I too have no one to be with at Christmas. We are two peas in the same pod."

"Why am I not surprised you have no one at Christmas, Ed?" Selina replied, allowing him to push her foot off his chest.

He stood up, adjusting the warm looking, green and purple striped scarf at his neck and brushing alleyway dirt off his suit with precise, exact sweeps of his hands. "People seem to be put off by my intelligence." He said, adjusting his gloves. "But the more important question is, why don't you have anyone during this," he sighed grudgingly, "joyous season?"

"Because I chose to be alone, Ed." She replied.

He tilted his head back, angling his lower jaw doubtfully as he studied her with narrowed eyes.

Selina was tempted to roundhouse him then and there. Instead, she took hold of his scarf with her free hand and pulled him in close to her, nose to nose. "What's the look for, Eddie?" She demanded.

Using the handle of his cane to push up his fedora, Eddie smiled his maniacally boyish smile. "You got rejected, didn't you, Kitten? Poor, beautiful Selina Kyle, out cold in the snow. Oh, how the others will talk…" he sighed, settling his hand to his cheek as though he weren't in the claw-tipped grip of death.

This time Selina dropped the bag of presents to properly knock Eddie onto the ground, he did well dodging her blows for a moment, but not really the fighter, he was soon nailed with a good right hook and a boot on his way down. "What did I say about calling me 'kitten'?" She growled.

Touching a finger to his bleeding bottom lip, Eddie continued to smile smugly up at her, once more splayed out on the ground pleasingly.

She wondered then if anyone ever really managed to shut the Riddler up properly. He was incorrigible.

While she was lost in enraged thought, Eddie had gotten back to his feet, once more wiping the grime of the alley off his suit, not caring much about his split bottom lip as it dribbled blood down his chin.

Selina snapped back to the reality of her Christmas. In a dark alley with the Riddler, robbing gifts from happy couples. She scoffed at her own pathetic turn in life and shook her head.

"The thing about playing with the Bat is, he always sets the rules," Eddie said, in a tone that was almost fatherly. "Things never happen on your terms, always his. Well," he smirked, "unless you force circumstances to be on your terms."

Frowning at him, Selina gave the Riddler a hard look.

"He is the reason you're in such a foul mood, am I correct?"

"You don't know anything about me, Eddie. And you damned well know nothing about my relationship with Batman."

"I know enough to know he's the only man you play nicely with. Don't insult my deductive skills, Selina dear. Ego animadverto, ego teneo*."

"You know nothing, Eddie."

"See, you're wrong, Kitten. I know you. And in my prime, I studied The Bat with a fine-tooth comb and one thousand times magnification, and do you know what I found?" He touched the handle of his cane to the area just under her chin.

Selina swiped the cane away from her and moved off. "I don't care what you found and if you touch me again I'll rip your tongue from your mouth."

"In the end, it's all about image," he called after her, ignoring her threat. "His kind. Heroes. Big men who think they're the only ones who can change the world."

She stopped but kept her back on the man.

"When the cowl comes off in the morning, he doesn't want to play with a thief who dresses like a dominatrix, his sort wants a wife in floral and pearls."

Selina turned on him. "All men want the dominatrix, Ed."

"Not the good ones. Not the Batmen of the world, Kitten. Could you imagine how hard his reputation would take a beating if he ever publicly announced any kind of tender intentions towards you? You're no Joker, my dear, but you're certainly not his level of Sainthood. You are just as dirty as the rest of us."

Standing for a moment, unsure what to say, she scoffed again. "What about you, Eddie? You're supposedly 'good' now, do you yearn for the floral and pearls or the dominatrix?"

He smiled broadly. "It doesn't matter what I want, Selina dear. This is a study in you and The Bat."

Sighing deeply, Selina looked up at the sky. "I'm cold, Ed, and it's almost midnight."

"Your place or mine?" He asked.

She narrowed her eyes in disgust. "I'm not that desperate yet."

Sweeping his hands out in an innocent gesture, Eddie beamed. "Why, Kitten, I meant for a nice Christmas meal of scotch and…little cheesy fish-shaped crackers…I think I have some of those…"

Turning away from him to hide the smile that came to her face, Selina sighed. "Merry Christmas, Eddie."

"Feliz Navidad, Kitten." He returned softly.


	2. New Year's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's New Year's in Gotham, which means someone somewhere in the city is ringing in the new year with a bang. But for Selina, it means shining ice and - unfortunately, Edward Nygma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These will probably come out pretty rapidly since I'm just moving them over from ff.net. Kudos are nice, comments are nicer.

Above Gotham City Hall, the alabaster ball was about to drop and Selina Kyle wanted to throat punch someone. Anyone.

Around her, sickly happy people gathered in couples and groups, drunker than happy hour at the Iceberg, singing and laughing along with the band playing on the stage. Showing brotherly love and camaraderie, before slinking back to their stinking, festering lives for the rest of the year.

She may have still been in a bad mood from Christmas...

Snow was falling softly on Gotham, but the idiots still congregated at the base of the stupid light show, waiting for a new year, expecting it to be better than the last.

Shoving her hands into the pockets of her heavy black peacoat, Selina sighed as yet another couple bumped into her on their way out of the area, lips locked together like they were born that way.

She had just come from the Iceberg, where it was the same, couples, groups, people with friends and lovers, happy and useless.

So why are you even here, Selina? She asked herself.

"I sincerely hope someone from the old Arkham crowd breaks up the mood tonight," someone said from her right. "It's so…unnecessarily festive. Do you know the statistics of accidental conception on New Years'? It's nearly astronomical..."

Selina sighed deeply. "Oh, hell no," she glanced over at Eddie who stood beside her, hands in the pockets of his own dark coat. "I'm not spending another holiday with you." She snarled.

Eddie chuckled. "Now, Selina dear, you technically didn't spend the last one with me."

"Still, I'm not putting up with you again." She replied, making to move off through the crowds.

The Riddler stopped her, hooking his cane around Selina's arm and holding her still beside him. "Be nice, Kitten. No need for the claws tonight."

"Luckily for you, I left them at home, Ed." She replied coolly, elbowing him to release her.

He grunted, but consented, cane returning to the ground, his left hand gripping it casually.

Eddie turned his eyes from the stage to her. "Jasmine?"

"What?"

"Your hair product. Jasmine, right?"

Sighing, she fought the urge to grit her teeth. "What are you doing?"

"Making conversation. This is how mere mortals converse, is it not?" His eyes twinkled in the light of the stage.

"You're not a God, Ed. You can say 'we' and it doesn't make you any less brilliant." She pointed out.

"God? No." He remarked eyeing an amorous couple at their side. "Homo Novus, perhaps..."

"You're no better than anyone else." She snarled.

"Why, Selina dear, sounds like you're having a rough night. Does this have anything to do with some residual rage from Christmas?"

She ignored him, eyeing the giant digital clock that lorded over the whole ceremony three minutes and some seconds until the new year.

"I'm not kissing you at midnight." She stated firmly. "If that's what you're trying to weasel out of me."

"I had no intentions of forcing myself upon you, Selina dear," he said. "All things considered, I'm rather fond of living."

"Then why are you forcing me to stay here with you?" She asked.

Eddie chuckled again. "Logically, in a fight, Selina, I couldn't hold a candle to you. Therefore, if you really wanted, you could leave at any time."

She made to leave, only to have him pull her back with his cane. Selina pursed her lips, hiding the playful smile there. She did like a challenge. Glancing at the clock she noted it was two minutes and forty-three seconds to go as she once more abused him to release her.

"Incidentally, how was your Christmas?" Eddie asked conversationally, rubbing the shoulder she assaulted. "Did you get everything you wanted?"

"And then some," she replied in a tone that was completely flat.

"I got a nice big fat rent due," he replied.

Not a fan of having anyone see her smile, Selina turned her head, pretending to study the crowds around them, hiding her smile from the Riddler.

"It was very thoughtful of my landlord. The beastly Cro-Magnon really knows how to touch a man's heart." He frowned at the stage. "I must admit, this honest living is somewhat of a vexation. It was easier back in the days of the Riddler. I didn't owe anyone anything...except maybe a certain Dark Knight a nice, cold grave..."

At his tone, she glanced over and found him glowering at the back of a Gothamite in front of them, hand to his chin.

He smiled then. "But then again, in those days you didn't pay for heat and you didn't get heat. That is a lovely luxury we bill payers are afforded." Sighing wistfully, he touched his cane to the brim of his hat and pushed it up a little. "Ah, but those days are over."

"Are you so sure?"

With a wag of his finger, he went on. "There are more important things to life than dropping a Bat, my dear."

"Go on."

The grin on his elfish face faltered as though he wasn't expecting her to urge him on. "Well, there's freedom. If I never see the inside of an Arkham cell again, it will be all too soon, and there's music and art and poetry and love. All this without having to look over my shoulder every two minutes."

"Speaking of floral and pearls..." she teased. "Is there a little woman in the future for you, Ed?"

"No." He said. "I've dealt with Harley, Ivy, and yourself long enough to know to steer clear of your sex."

"So? Little man, then?"

Quirking an elegant brow, he angled his head to face her, eyeing her with sharp blue eyes. "You're the third person in as many months to make that suggestion."

"Eddie, you're..." she waved her hand. "Never mind."

By the time Selina composed herself she found the clock read one minute and thirteen seconds. Beside her, Eddie was eyeing it as well.

"Ah," he said after a moment, "I have something for you."

Selina watched with slight horror as Eddie reached into his coat pocket and drew out a long, flat box.

"It's late for Christmas but better late than never." He said holding it out to her.

She eyed the gift. "What do you want?"

He wiggled the present a little, eyeing it with mild confusion. "It's a present, Lina. Something one gives to another in an effort to build a relationship. My therapist said so."

Selina cringed a little when she said, "sorry, Eddie. I won't take it." She supposed it was because the sentiment was actually endearing in an odd way. Sometimes she thought of Eddie as a little boy still, needing, wanting attention and affection. It was partly why she was never as cruel to him as she could be because he was just too vulnerable at times. Sure, he was a dangerous criminal, but he never seemed like one to her.

Beside her the Riddler quirked a brow, it rose and fell so fast Selina almost missed it. "Ah."

"It's not you, Ed. I don't take gifts from men who I have no interest in." She explained simply.

The look in his boyish blue eyes almost made her turn and leave him just to escape it, then he smiled to cover the look and lowered the gift wielding hand. "Well, I can see why you would enforce that rule. It seems to be working out for you." He said smoothly. "No insistent men beating down your door thinking they have a chance."

"It just seems to encourage them." She added.

He nodded. "It would. Indeed."

The clock was at thirty-three seconds.

Beside her Eddie was silent.

You should have just taken the damned gift, she scolded herself. How often does Edward Nygma give gifts? Then a thought struck her. If he was so damned smart…

Sometimes she forgot just how manipulative Edward Nygma could be.

Beside her Eddie studied the clock with a twinkle in his eye, gift still in hand, dangling limply at his side.

"You knew I wouldn't accept the gift," she accused, her ire rising.

He smirked. "My dear, I have no idea what you mean."

"Then why-"

"Ten!"

"I'm going to punch that smirk right off your face," she threatened.

"Seven!"

"Think you could sucker me into a pity kiss at midnight…" she went on.

"Five!"

"I bet that stupid box is empty."

"Three!"

"It's not." He replied.

She glowered at him and made for the box he now held away from her playfully.

"One! Happy New Year!"

Around them, people fell into song as others embraced and kissed.

Selina, her curiosity and rage in full swing, leaned in close to Eddie, pursing her lips. As she did this her left hand curled around the gift, her right curled into a fist.

She left him in the middle of the crowd, holding his gut, the gift in her hand.

Three steps from him, she paused and turned, realizing he had tricked her into taking the gift from him.

The area where he stood was filled with lovers embracing, the Riddler was gone, having hobbled his body away to whatever hole it was he came from.

Turning sharply on her heel, she stormed away from the celebration, her swag in hand.


	3. St. Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine's Day. It's a cheap grab for money from the consumer, but it is the time for lovers. Unfortunately, Selina is sick.

She was in abject misery.

Everywhere ached.

It wasn't some grand battle or fall that took her out, but a killer bout of the flu.

Harley buzzed around her bedside, feeding her hot chicken noodle soup with crackers and ice-cold water, chatting away a mile a minute. Selina appreciated the concern the blonde showed her, but really it only distracted her from feeling sorry for herself.

The blonde, wearing a crooked nurse's cap and white button up dress that clearly wasn't regulation for any nurse Selina had ever met, fluffed her pillow for the third time that hour, while behind her Professor Crane read the thermometer he had plucked from Catwoman's lips. She wasn't sure why he was there. Crane had shown up with Harley, hands pocketed sullenly, face drawn and grim.

"Ninety-nine," he said, pinning her with an icy look over his classy silver-framed glasses. "If it gets any higher we'll have to take you to the hospital."

Selina groaned. "Just leave me here to die, Doc."

Placing her hands on her hips, Harley frowned. "Lina, that's no way to think! Ya ain't dyin' on my watch!"

"Doc, take Nurse Ratchett when you go." Selina moaned weakly.

Crane tilted his head. "Must I? I didn't even want to be dragged here by her in the first place..." he muttered.

"Why are you here, Crane?" Selina asked.

Pale eyes gave her an icy warning glare, but he chose to ignore her.

The two lingered around her bed, Harley pushing the limits of a guest, Crane fiddling around with the bottles of flu medication she had laid out on her bedside table.

Snuffling, she reached for her nasal decongestant but found it yanked out of her grasp.

"Selina dear, you can't take this with your chest decongestant," he said.

She growled pathetically. "Give me the drugs, Doc."

Crane leaned down, hovering over her. "Would you rather I euthanize you?" It was an honest offer, if Selina knew the Scarecrow, he wouldn't hesitate to hold the pillow over her face and watch her struggle to breathe with shining eyes.

"Would you? Thanks." She replied.

"Jonny, let's leave and let Lina get some sleep," Harley ordered.

On their way out Selina could hear Crane snarl, 'I really hate when you call me that'.

"And no funny business on my couch!" She shouted after them. It seemed like a safe warning to give. After all, there had to be some reason why Crane was following Harley around. He wasn't one for social interactions unless he was getting something out of them. Not sure just what he was getting from the blonde, Selina decided to just cover the basics. Those two could be up to anything if she knew them at all. Especially with Harley trying to move on from her 'puddin'. The bold blonde seemed just crazy enough to try something with Crane.

Through the haze of her half-awake mind, Selina could sense something was off.

At the foot of her bed, Miss Kitty tensed as well.

Opening her eyes to the suddenly dark night time world of her bedroom, she registered a form hovering over her and in self-preservation mode, lashed out, kicking at them with her left foot.

Her attacker caught her foot and immediately pressed a gloved hand over her mouth.

"Quiet, Kitten. You wake Doctor Kevorkian and Nurse Ratchett and they'll be in here. Do you really want that?" Eddie warned, dropping his hand from her mouth. His other hand still lightly grasping Selina's bare leg just behind the knee, shining eyes bright in the near darkness. She could have sworn his thumb was rubbing a butterfly light circle over her heated flesh, but it could have just been delirium.

In the darkness, she noticed he was wearing a surgical mask over his face and smirked.

Selina, with no real energy to fight, flopped back onto the bed. "Funny, I call her Nurse Ratchett too."

The Riddler's eyes twinkled down at her, releasing her leg and tucking it back under the covers of her bed, his hand giving Miss Kitty a courtesy stroke to calm her as well.

"How'd you get in here?" She demanded.

"I picked the lock on your door," he explained simply, flicking his fingers to send the fur that clung to his glove wafting out into the air. "Crept past Bonnie and Clyde, and here I am. Oh, the cleverness of me."

"Save it, Peter Pan, I'm not impressed. And if you're here to kill me I won't stop you," she mumbled. "Just get it over with."

He chuckled, tossing his fedora onto the lamp by her bed and removing his jacket, draping it on the back of the chair, before easing down. The glove that was covering her mouth was removed, set aside on her bedside table, and replaced by a new one pulled out of his inner jacket pocket.

"Word on the street is you're on your deathbed," he said.

"Ngh."

"Flu or cat scratch fever?"

"Leave the bad jokes to the Joker, Ed." She growled. "And if you're not here to kill me, get out."

"I'd like to see you make me."

Taking the challenge, Selina found with no strength, Eddie easily pushed her back into the bed. Flopping back, she glowered at him. "Try that when I have my strength back and I'll lay you out." She snarled. "What do you want?"

He reached for his jacket, pulling out a book of crosswords. "I brought you something to keep your mind occupied while you recuperate."

"Ugh," she grunted, pushing the book away from her. She already had a killer sinus headache, doing a crossword puzzle of his choice would probably explode her brain.

Shrugging, Eddie settled back into the chair, pulling a pen out and flipping open the book.

After a few minutes of silence, Selina rolled her head over to one side to eye the man in the green suit who sat so comfortably by her bed.

He quietly filled in his crossword, his right leg crossed over his left leg to give him a table to work on.

She studied him. The errant lock of red wine hair that draped down over the left side of his face from where his widow's peak displaced it, the sharp, patrician bridge of his nose creating a sage green mountain out of the surgical mask, the sharp clarity of his blue eyes as he was deep in thought. It almost made him look like a predator.

"Why are you here, Eddie?" She asked.

He glanced up from the crossword. "I brought you something to keep you busy."

She shook her head. "I mean, why are you still here?"

His graceful eyebrows rose to his hairline. "I'm sorry, Kitten. Do you want me to leave?"

Sighing, Selina pressed herself deeper into her cocoon of blankets and pillows. "I'm too sick to play your games tonight."

His eyes twinkled. "Games? No games, only crosswords. And I can assure you, I take those very seriously."

"Eddie," she growled.

"What's a six letter word for socially awkward?" He asked, turning back to the crossword. "Starts with 'G'."

Selina sighed. "Why are you asking me, Eddie. You know what it is."

"Ends with 'E'." He went on.

"Eddie." Selina's tone brooked no further games.

The Riddler set the book down, closing it on his finger to mark his page, and leaned across the distance to gesture to the pendant at her throat, hand a hair's breadth from her throat. "I must say you wear my gift well."

Sneering, Selina rolled over, out of his reach. "I'm not wearing it for your benefit, Ed." She replied. The truth was she had become so accustomed to wearing the delicate silver and lapis lazuli cat pendant, that she had even forgotten she had it on. She assumed Eddie had made the purchase merely because the cat's tail was curled into a question mark. When she had opened his gift after New Year's, she was so impressed that he had dropped some amount of coin and thought into it, that she put the pendant on without feeling anything a woman usually felt when wearing a gift of jewelry from a man. She really didn't care who gave it to her, she just liked the pendant.

"The cheap trinket was worth less than nothing at the hock shop," she added almost sullenly. "I would have had to pay them to take it off my hands."

"So you decided to wear it instead?" He inquired.

Glowering at him, she refused to answer.

Touching a finger to his mask, he quirked an eyebrow. "The woman who steals thousands of dollars in shiny baubles is wearing a cheap trinket around her neck?"

"I like the cat." She snarled.

"You're off your game tonight." He shot back almost accusingly, finger pointed at her, body leaning forward.

"I'm sick."

"I can tell."

Sniffling, she flopped onto her side and studied him with sleepy eyes. "No date tonight?"

Without looking up from the crosswords he had returned to, he spoke. "You're being very droll, my dear. Now go back to sleep."

Poking his knee with her finger, she scowled. "So, what? You're going to sit there all night?"

"I'm thinking I'll retire around four." Looking up he gazed at her, once more placing his finger in the book of crosswords to mark his place. "I'm a night owl, you see."

"You sit there all night and people will talk." She warned.

Eddie sat back in his seat and opened the book once more, pen at ready. "Gauche."

"What?"

"The word, Lina, socially awkward. Gauche."

Snuggling into her bed, she wriggled to get comfy. "Shut up, Eddie. I'm trying to sleep."

After a minute or so, she cracked one eye open and glared at him.

"It's really hard trying to sleep with you sitting there." She stated.

Looking up from his book, he furrowed his brow in thought. "Would you feel better if I got into bed with you?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Not at the moment, no. I have no milk of human kindness for the influenza virus. Ask me again when you're feeling better."

"Never going to happen. But if you stick around, I will thrust my tongue down your throat."

"I think I'll take my chances." Removing his clean glove and replacing it with the sullied one, he reached out and touched a hand to her forehead. "Sleep."

As he rubbed her temple idly, freehand returning to the crossword puzzle, she sighed. It was a nice feeling.

"You're a freak, Ed." She muttered.

He pulled his hand away.

"I didn't say stop." She ordered.


End file.
